Anthology of American Folk Music

by Various Artists

Anthology of American Folk Music cover art

Originally compiled by eccentric collector Harry Smith in 1952, this monumental six-LP set gathered highly obscure, commercial 78 rpm recordings from late-1920s rural America. Divided thematically into Ballads, Social Music, and Songs, it resurrected forgotten Appalachian traditions, Cajun stomps, and early Delta blues. The anthology essentially ignited the Greenwich Village folk revival, deeply influencing figures like Bob Dylan and remaining the cornerstone text of Americana.

Genres

  • Country Blues
  • American Folk Music
  • Old-Time

Tracklist

  1. Henry Lee
  2. Fatal Flower Garden
  3. The House Carpenter
  4. Drunkard’s Special
  5. Old Lady and the Devil
  6. The Butcher's Boy
  7. The Wagoner’s Lad
  8. King Kong Kitchie Kitchie Ki‐Me‐O
  9. Old Shoes and Leggins
  10. Willie Moore
  11. A Lazy Farmer Boy
  12. Peg and Awl
  13. Ommie Wise
  14. My Name Is John Johanna
  15. Bandit Cole Younger
  16. Charles Giteau
  17. John Hardy Was a Desperate Little Man
  18. Gonna Die With My Hammer in My Hand
  19. Stackalee
  20. White House Blues
  21. Frankie
  22. When That Great Ship Went Down
  23. Engine 143
  24. Kassie Jones
  25. Down on Penny’s Farm
  26. Mississippi Boweavil Blues
  27. Got the Farm Land Blues
  28. Sail Away Lady
  29. The Wild Wagoner
  30. Wake Up Jacob
  31. La Danseuse
  32. Georgia Stomp
  33. Brilliancy Medley
  34. Indian War Whoop
  35. Old Country Stomp
  36. Old Dog Blue
  37. Saut Crapaud
  38. Arcadian One‐Step
  39. Home Sweet Home
  40. The Newport Blues
  41. Moonshiner’s Dance, Part One
  42. You Must Be Born Again
  43. Oh Death Where Is Thy Sting
  44. Rocky Road
  45. Present Joys
  46. This Song of Love
  47. Judgement
  48. He Got Better Things for You
  49. Since I Laid My Burden Down
  50. John the Baptist
  51. Dry Bones
  52. John the Revelator
  53. Little Moses
  54. Shine on Me
  55. Fifty Miles of Elbow Room
  56. In the Battlefield for My Lord
  57. The Coo Coo Bird
  58. East Virginia
  59. Minglewood Blues
  60. I Woke Up One Morning in May
  61. James Alley Blues
  62. Sugar Baby
  63. I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground
  64. Mountaineer’s Courtship
  65. The Spanish Merchant's Daughter
  66. Bob Lee Junior Blues
  67. Single Girl, Married Girl
  68. La vieux soulard et sa femme
  69. Rabbit Foot Blues
  70. Expressman Blues
  71. Poor Boy Blues
  72. Feather Bed
  73. Country Blues
  74. 99 Year Blues
  75. Prison Cell Blues
  76. See That My Grave Is Kept Clean
  77. C’est si triste sans lui
  78. Way Down the Old Plank Road
  79. Buddy Won’t You Roll Down the Line
  80. Spike Driver Blues
  81. K.C. Moan
  82. Train on the Island
  83. The Lone Star Trail
  84. Fishing Blues